THE NECESSITY OF INTROSPECTION(Med.76)

THE NECESSITY OF INTROSPECTION(Med.76)
Swami Chidananda)

Radiant immortal Atman! Beloved and blessed children of the Divine!

Sense objects are deceptive. They are endowed with a false glitter and indescribable power of deluding the mind, attracting it, enmeshing it and then enslaving it. Lord Krishna warns in the Gita that they are sources of pain, not sources of happiness. Ashtavakra Gita tell us “Vishayan vishavat tyaja –Shun sense-objects like poison” [1.2]. So we should try to be careful; and if sense-objects attract us say “no”.  We will use our will power and discrimination. We will try to look into the defects of the sense-objects. It is possible to be in a state where these temptations and danger do not exist. For one who has no desire for sense-objects, they do not constitute a temptation. For example, those in whose life the drinking of liquor has never been a factor are never tempted to drink liquor.

But then, not only you have to be cautious about things outside, but also you have to be aware and cautious about things right within you. They can torment you; they can make you suffer. Desires make the mind restless until they are fulfilled. When they are fulfilled, they make the craving still stronger. These desires are not from outside you; they are from within yourself.

Discretion being better part of valour, it is usually possible to escape from things outside you. But how can you avoid things that emanate from within you? You cannot run away from yourself. More harm can be done to yourself by yourself than by all the objects of the external world put together. Hence you will have to engage yourself in an inner discipline, inner transformation.

Think about it. You are at the mercy of the things, which come from within. And if you are not able to clearly recognise their presence within you, you cannot deal with them. How can you deal with an unknown, unseen adversary? They have to be brought to the surface.

That is why Guru Maharaj Swami Sivanandaji said: “Sit alone, turn your mind inward, introspect, do self-examination, analyse the inner contents.” This is indispensable; otherwise you will not know yourself. You will be dismayed by seeing within yourself qualities, which you cannot stand in others. Suddenly you humbly experience they are there right within you. It is a chastening experience. They have been there for decades, from your birth, may be from another birth. One day’s, one week’s introspection will reveal nothing. If you practise with determination, if you persevere in this sadhana, you will be rewarded with a lot of revelation about yourself. Then only you are in a position to bring about the desired change.

It is this sadhana that makes other forms of sadhana effective and fruitful. If you do it sincerely, then day by day, you will become better and better, your inside will be purer and purer. Then victory is yours. May God bless you and may the grace and benedictions of Gurudev enable you to be successful in this all-important inner sadhana!